The Black Rose Shall Bloom Once More - Rewrite
by Alice Raven B
Summary: Edward left Bella... that was almost 10 years ago. Thing change in that time and people do as well, only how much do they change? Bella and her daughter Grace end up on a trip in Volterra, who is Isabella Swin? - Rewrite of "The Black Rose Shall Bloom Once More".
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is an alternate rewritten version of my "The Black Rose Shall Bloom Once More" only this time it features Superhuman!Bella and of course Jane! My favourite Twilight character except for Alice. The Story is going to loosely follow the same route as the original title only featuring a more dynamic relationship between Bella and the characters, also Bella is a strong Independent mother who's priority (much to Jane's annoyance) will always be her daughter.**

* * *

 **Bella POV -**

Volterra, a beautiful city in Italy with old Victorian gothic architecture still very much present within the buildings. Phil's baseball team had been one of a few from the United States to be invited to the Volterran Velociraptor's debut tournament. There were 5 teams from each country competing, and of course all family members were encouraged to come. Phil and Renee had invited Grace and I to join them, apparently the Volterran Velociraptor's were sponsored by some of the wealthiest businesses who were willing to pay all expenses for the visitors on their trip, must have cost millions.

Asleep in her seat on the plane was Grace, my 9-year-old daughter. Grace Lauren Swan was one of the only good things to ever happen to me, the best actually. Grace, unfortunately doesn't know her father, neither do I really. He was just a one-night stand that I never cared to remember his name, or face, however, I knew he had blonde hair because Grace doesn't share the same brown hair as I do. Nor does she have my nose, hers was a bit flatter than mine and she had dimples, but she is the one I treasure the most. Sometimes I think back to the circumstances that led me to have her.

It all started in the woods outside of a designer house in Forks, my first boyfriend broke up with me and told me I was just a way to kill time. I was absolutely pathetic back then, I shut down, didn't eat, sleep, rarely left home. I thought I wasn't good enough, so once I got out of the feeling sorry for myself stage I ended up heading to Seattle every weekend and often wouldn't return until Monday. I scared Charlie half to death on a weekly basis, I spent the time in Seattle drinking, smoking, taking drugs and having sex. A few weeks after an encounter I missed my period, that set off red lights in my head and I later found I was pregnant.

After I gave birth to Grace I turned my life around, took up various jobs until I found one that I was a natural at; A few seats up from me was a man wearing an expensive suit and tie, my target. Antonio Valentina, 38 years of age, married with two children. He also happened to be a scumbag who owns Valentina Industries, they manufacture clothes on the global scale. However, while most of his business deals have been clean, most of them.

Valentina had been doing some under the table deals with Marvin Cortez, the leader of one of the drug smuggling operations that was putting my client out of business. His brother also happened to be a baseball player for the Redbacks, one of the Australian teams.

However, that wasn't his biggest fault. Valentina was an Oni, a demon. If my interaction with the Cullen's taught me anything, it's that we are not alone in this world. While Valentina was wanted by one of my clients, it was my bosses who wanted him taken out.

We landed in Volterra shortly after, I kept my eyes on my target and made an excuse to go to the bathroom. Renee and Phil were happy to look after Grace while I was busy, however, instead of going to the bathroom I followed Valentina to where he was going. He went into a private security room with two guards at the door. They stood up to me when I walked up to them, however, humans are easy to move around. A simple wave of my hand and they dropped where they stood, unconscious.

"I should have known they'd send you here," Valentina's voice was eerily calm.

"It is amazing what impact we can have in the human world when it is convenient. Now, are you going to come quietly? Or am I going to be taking back your head?" I stated calmly.

"I heard from the grapevine that while you're new, you've also got the largest kill count. Tell me, is that true?" he asked, his back was still turned to me.

"It's true, I have a girl to take care of. The Elder Council took interest in me, gave me a gift, and gave me a means to take care of my daughter," I replied.

"Indeed, I also have a family to take care of. So, I will come peacefully. Cortez isn't worth dying over, the human is doing well for himself… so how much trouble am I in this time? I must've pissed of Titania a shit load for them to send the Black Rose after me," Valentina sighed.

* * *

A singular Black Rose, that had been my calling card when I've enforced the Laws of the Elder Council. They had found me struggling to make ends meet and offered me a chance to give my daughter a future and be more than what I could have been.

"Mummy, we're seeing the castle today. Aren't we?" Grace said looking up at me with those adorable emerald eyes, although I never knew her father more than just a one night stand, I absolutely adore her eyes.

"Sure are love, you going to wear that dress I got you?" I asked, she nodded eagerly and went to the copy of Rapunzel's dress from 'Tangled' that she adored, I also braided her long hair.

The castle was old, and slightly off. We were with a large tour group. Grace was the only child which caused her to pout, but she was enjoying the fact that she could frolic in the castle without anyone telling her she can't.

Our tour guide Heidi appeared to be a lovely woman, she was draped in clothes that seemed out of place, however, she said it was their uniform. She was quite nice and seemed quite young, I couldn't smell anything off about it other than her beauty. Italian women must be absolute pieces of art. My sense of smell, however, could be affected by all the humans we were with. Though, I'm not one of the highest ranked assassins serving the Elder Council for nothing, I have a complete arsenal on me at all times and if things get sticky I can always transform and call in someone to wipe memories.

"And here we are, the throne room. Please note that the thrones are not to be touched," Heidi said brightly.

"Aw," Grace said with a pout.

"Don't worry honey, we'll sneak around and grab some pics for you," I whispered, she grinned up at me and nodded her head eagerly.

The first signs something was very wrong hit me as soon as we entered the room and I could smell something off. The obvious sign was that three men were seated on the thrones and surrounding the room were various figures in the same robes as Heidi. The last sign was the door closing behind us and then being locked by two strong looking men.

I surveyed the room with practiced precision, I could easily identify exactly what they were. Vampires, their unnatural beauty, pale skin and blood red eyes gave them away.

"Grace, do you remember the rule we have about when Mummy has to work when you're with her?" I said leaning down and looking Grace in the eyes.

"Do you have to work?" she pouted and I nodded.

"Okay," Grace sighed and pulled on her jacket and closed it up over her head.

"How interesting," the man in the middle said.

I reached into my jacket and grasped my hand around one of my mythic blades, its designed so that the blade is stored inside the hilt and comes out when I draw it. However, I can also access part of my gifts with it.

I saw the flash and movement of one of them heading towards me, the humans around us screamed and panicked obscuring my view of the coming assailant. Soon enough human bodies were being thrown around the room by the vampire, with the ones on the outside catching their prey and then sinking their teeth directly into the exposed jugular. I quickly made note of where Grace was, she was of course directly behind me and against the wall I had backed us into.

"This one's a smart one," a slick looking vampire said looking directly at me.

"Don't play with your food Demetri," a blonde-haired vampire said rolling her eyes.

"Bon appetite," he said licking his lips and coming right at me.

I drew the blade from its hiding place on my belt with practiced speed, the blade materialised within mere moments and I pushed my gift into it igniting it with a golden flame. My move surprised him and he didn't have time, nor the speed in which he could possibly hope to match me. I removed his head clean from his shoulders, his body reducing to flames straight away with his head rolling to the ground metres from me.

The Vampires ceased their movements and feeding, all blood red eyes were on me. The blonde-haired woman let out a pained scream, no doubt this was his mate. It took me a few moments to see who exactly were going to act violent at my actions.

I cursed myself mentally the moment my eyes met the short blonde girl standing right next to the three thrones. I couldn't seem to pull my eyes away from her, that gave the other blonde-haired vampire who was mated to the foolish one who tried to make me his dinner the chance to attack. However, before she managed to reach me she collapsed onto the ground screaming in pain.

Her screams snapped me out of my stupor and I moved and immediately removed her head from her shoulders. The head rolled within distance of the males and then her body caught fire.

"Extraordinary, to think someone could have the speed to match us. Tell me, how did you do it?"

"You thought you and the wolves were the only non-human species out there?" I said surprised, most of the vampires in the room looked perplexed at the idea that there's more out there.

"I was aware, but, I never thought I'd see a representative on the Elder Council for another few thousand years. We've broken none of their laws," the man in the middle said.

"Fortunately for you, I had other council business to take care of. And I was merely sight-seeing with my daughter."

"Terribly sorry you two got caught up in our lunch time, but, I would say it is certainly welcome. You seem to be our dear Jane's mate," the man in the middle said, I looked to the blonde who was standing next to the thrones who looked like she wanted to run over to me.

"Yes, that… distraction nearly cost me," I was mentally kicking myself for getting distracted during a high-risk situation.

"Jane, dear, how about you take your Mate…"

"Isabella."

"Right, how about you take Isabella and her daughter to your room for a conversation? I'm sure Alec will save you some for later," the man said politely, in a few moments the young woman was in front of me with a small smile on her face.

"I'm Jane, Jane Volturi."

"Isabella Swan."

"And I'm Grace!" my daughter had taken her jacket off her head and was looking at the two of us with her adorable eyes.

"A pleasure to meet you young one," Jane said kneeling down.

"Mummy she has red eyes, kind of like yours when you're angry. Is she angry?" Grace asked concerned.

"Angry? No, my eyes are always red. I'm a vampire," Jane replied.

"Ooh, can I sit on the throne?" Grace's attention quickly changed to look at the thrones the three men were sitting on.

Most of the guard tensed at that, Jane tensed as well and that caused me to tense. The sword that had been just at my side ignited once again. However, the man in the middle just let out a chuckle before he spoke.

"Of course my dear, why don't you come on up. I hope the seat is comfortable," he said, Grace's smile widened at that and she immediately ran past me and straight to the now vacant throne.

"No one will hurt her," Jane said quietly, she seemed to have caught on to my worry.

"They'd better not even think about trying, or I'll tear this place to the ground. Mate or not, your species can't stay sane once their mate is gone. I can live without a mate, sure it'll be hard, but I can do it," I threatened in a voice that was loud enough for vampires to hear, but low enough that Grace couldn't hear.

"What are you? You smell human, but clearly you're as fast as us," the blonde male who was sitting on his throne while looking at Grace with disgust.

"That completely depends on…" my phone buzzed in my pocket, not my regular phone but my 'work' phone, I picked it up and answered.

"Yes?"

" _The Black Rose Shall Bloom Once More."_

" _The Red Rose Shall Cleanse The World Of Sin_ ," was my immediately reply.

" _You have a new assignment Swan_."

"Your target?"

" _We have news that a rogue vampire is amassing an army, we believe his target is the Volturi. Since you're in Volterra, we want you to run protection detail until the target has shown himself_ ," I sighed and mentally rolled my eyes, it was as if they knew I was with the Volturi right now.

"Who's the target?"

" _Edward Cullen_."


	2. Chapter 2: The Hidden World

A/N: Glad you enjoyed the start of this rewrite – I felt that my writing and personal likes had evolved since I wrote the first six chapters of the previous version. That's why I modelled this rewrite after a more strong and supernatural protagonist along with a different – but similar – arc of story.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Hidden World**

 **Bella POV -**

 _7 years ago –_

" _Leah, are you all good to watch Grace tonight while I'm working?" I asked as I frantically packed my gym bag._

" _Yeah Bells, all good. Kate and I are just going to watch movies," Leah replied._

" _I'd better meet Kate sometime soon Lee, especially if you're going to be minding Grace with her. No sex until after she's asleep for god's sake!" I shouted._

" _Chillax Bells, Seth is going to be here as well. God," Leah said sounding offended._

" _Thank god, at least she'll have one responsible adult looking after her," I said, my best friend and step-sister Leah Clearwater poked her tongue out at me as I grabbed my keys._

 _Charlie and Sue had gotten married almost a year ago. Harry Clearwater had suffered a heart attack and died, Charlie and Harry were good friends so he would always be around Sue helping her. I think the two of them got over their grief together and that's what made them fall in love, naturally that meant that Leah, Seth and I became family which we didn't mind at all. Leah had been a big help, especially when I first gave birth to Grace. Seth had also taken on the brotherly role to both myself and Grace, he also seemed to be more level headed than Leah._

 _The drive to work wasn't that long, but I had a long evening ahead of me. Once I graduated from College in Seattle I took up a job as a personal trainer, now I teach classes ever Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights along with Sunday mornings. It really sucks but I have to pay the bills somehow. I was glad that Leah and Seth lived nearby and were always happy to help me when I needed them. Seth was still studying in college while Leah worked as a mechanic. I knew that both of them were wolves, and they knew I knew and we accepted each other as family. However, Leah recently imprinted on a vampire, Kate. I know that the two will make each other happy, but I still have to worry for what they'd end up doing if left alone with only Grace. So, Seth being there was something I was VERY grateful for. I am still yet to meet Katrina 'Kate' Denali._

 _What I severely disliked about my job is the amount of sleazy men that come to my classes simply to look at me. I was 5 feet and 6 inches tall, had a skinny and well-toned body that I constantly worked on when I was at work, my breasts had grown from a 36B cup to 38C's due to my pregnancy. This posed problems for me as I was constantly being catcalled and whistled at by lecherous men, which always sent a shiver down my spine when they did._

 _It was late at night and I was taking a short cut home through the park, I was tired and wasn't really paying attention when something slammed into my car sending it flying. I tried to protect myself as the car tumbled and I was pretty sure I hit my head a few times, my vision was blurry but I could manage to make out the visage of a woman with flaming red hair._

" _It took me three years to finally track you down, three long and painful years of plotting my vengeance. And the Cullen's have left you all alone," the woman cackled._

" _What the fuck are you on about?" I managed to cough._

" _Don't play dumb, you are the same girl who hung off his arm. That fucking mind reader that killed James," she grabbed my collar, snapped my seatbelt off and hauled me from my broken car and into the air, her red eyes glaring at me._

" _Victoria?" I wheezed and her lips curled into a snarl._

" _So glad you remembered me, after all these years," she licked her lips._

 _She pulled back her hand, long nails poised to strike. I looked into her eyes and saw her determination to kill me. This would be the end of my life. However, as her hand made to go forward something black and sticky wrapped around it and pulled her away from me sending my broken body tumbling to the ground._

 _It took a few minutes for my vision to properly register with the pounding in my head, however, the view that greeted me was one I would remember for my whole life. A shadowy figure was swiftly moving around Victoria whose instincts were telling her to flee as fast as she can but whenever she found an escape, the figure would block it._

" _Victoria, the Elder Council has found you in violation of one of the sacred laws. I am here to bring you in to face charges," the shadow-voice said monotonously._

 _She screamed and scratched at him, however, she found herself in a sticky black cage before she disappeared from sight. The figure then looked at me and approached, I was unable to defend myself or anything should he decide to end me._

" _You're interesting, I sense something different about you. I shall investigate this further," it said before I looked into violet eyes, I felt something probing around in my head before it was gone._

" _This is interesting indeed, very well, we shall go and you shall accompany me along with your associates and child."_

 _I had no idea what happened but as soon as he touched me we were transported to my house. Seth, Leah and a Blonde woman jumped at my sudden appearance before they too were covered in the black vapour and taken somewhere else._

 _When we arrived, we appeared to be in some large ornate room, it was spacious with tables, chairs and couches. The pounding in my head had stopped but my physical injuries and the pain with them registered._

" _Oh my god Bella!" Leah shrieked and was immediately by my side._

" _Holy shit," Seth gasped before he quickly pulled the jacket over Grace's head, something I was very grateful for so she didn't have to see me like this._

" _Where are we?" the blonde vampire asked._

" _You are in Yggdrasil," a female voice replied, echoing throughout the room._

" _The tree of life? Bullshit, that's just a myth," the vampire said._

" _And I suppose you thought Vampires were a myth before you became one? Or that your mate is a wolf-shifter?" the voice replied._

" _Your majesty, we must see to the girl's injuries," the male voice from before said._

" _I can see that, have Morgan come and heal the girl, from what you've shown me I think she is more than capable."_

 _I heard more voices but couldn't quite make out what they were saying before I felt a strange tingling sensation and then all the pain went away and I was able to see, move, breathe and hear properly. My first instinct was to go over to Grace who was still in Seth's hands albeit she was crying. Once I had her in my arms she stopped crying and eventually I was able to lull her to sleep._

" _Children, such a magical gift," the woman said._

 _I looked at her, she was dressed in a vibrant green and white dress, however, this dress seemed to be made out of flower petals instead of actual fabric._

" _Forgive my manners, my name is Queen Titania and this is Yggdrasil, the home of the Elder Council."_

* * *

" _Hey kid, this is your chance to get your revenge_ ," the voice of my mentor on the phone said with amusement.

"To think that Edward Cullen, of all of the vampires, would be amassing an army against us," Caius Volturi – the youngest of the Kings said snidely.

"Looks like I'm going to have to stay here for a while," I grumbled.

"Mummy! Take some pictures of me," Grace called out, I sighed and pulled out my casual phone from my pocket.

"You try anything and your head will be on a pike before you can say 'blood'" I warned the man who had introduced himself as Aro, and had allowed Grace to sit on his throne.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said backing away, a move which had all of the Volturi guard on edge.

I kneeled down and got the photo app up on my phone and began to take pictures of Grace on the throne for her. She giggled and kicked her legs while looking around in wonder and amazement.

"Would you like a proper tour of the castle?" Jane asked hesitantly, I wasn't going to answer but Grace did for me.

"I do!" she said hopping off of the throne, seemingly desensitised to everything that had been going on around her.

"Lead the way," I said reluctantly, Jane seemed quite happy with that response and took my hand before waiting for Grace to get to us before we left the room.

She showed us around the entire castle, from the dungeons which Grace was scared of and demanded Jane carry her through – which Jane obliged without complaining at all. All the way to the beautiful terrace Garden's which were sometimes used by the Volturi Queens Sulpicia, Athenodora and Didyme. Lastly we were shown Jane's room which was surprisingly modern, Grace had immediately jumped on one of the beds before dropping down in it and enjoying the soft duvet. However, Grace's favourite place by far was the ancient library filled with books. One of the things I adored and encouraged was her love of literature and the art of the written word.

Jane explained that while the Library was open to all of the members of the guard, not that many liked reading, however, Queen Didyme and King Marcus seemed to be very fond of literature and could be found in the Library 9 times out of 10. Sulpicia was a more modern Queen and favoured shopping and leisurely activities similar to what most rich women would do. Athenodora – on the other hand was a complete surprise to me, she was a battle strategist and had a keen mind for warfare, fighting and the like. Apparently both Caius and Athenodora were the ones who trained the guard, Caius having been a Greek General before he was turned and Athenodora having been a Viking before she was turned. Both of their historical armours were encased in their private rooms – or so I was told. They also, weren't actually mates – they were just together for company until their respective mates came along. Eventually there would be four Volturi Kings and four Volturi Queens.

It was late at night that I found myself in the throne room again in the presence of the elite guard and the kings and queens of Volterra. Grace was fast asleep in the bed she claimed in Jane's room, and Alec, Jane's brother was right outside her door. I didn't trust him, however, Jane – as my mate, is Alec's twin sister so he would do anything for her, and she him.

"So, we've held off on our questions while the child was around. Now, what exactly are you and who do you work for?" Caius asked while bearing his teeth at me, not a bright one that one is.

"I work for the Elder Council, that is the council of the entire supernatural world. They are the ones who established our hidden world within the Human world, their laws are the laws you never break and they give the laws to lesser species like you to govern your species by."

"Lesser, there is nothing lesser about us. We're practically indestructible, fast, strong –"

"And you would be dead if facing a number of difference species, sorry to burst your bubble blondey, but you ain't the only supernatural species out there. There's more than just Vampires, Werewolves and Shifters."

"And what species are you?" Athenodora asked with genuine interest.

"Are you sure that's a question you want answered?"

"I would certainly like to know, just out of interest," Didyme added with a bright smile.

"I'm one of the most dangerous species of Dragons."

"Dragons are real? Shit…" I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"I don't believe it," Caius said.

"Brother, I think we're asking the wrong questions here. Isabella is Jane's mate and it would be best not to antagonise her, now, please, can you explain what you plan to do here given the mission that was assigned to you?" Aro asked cutting Caius off from a remark.

"I'll do my job, run protection and wait until Cullen and his army show themselves before I wipe them off from the face of the earth."

"And what makes you think you're qualified to protect us? The fools you killed today may have been valuable to us but they were by no means warriors," Caius said standing up from his throne.

"Very well, pick your top three warriors. I will face all three at once," I said, this vampire was seriously starting to piss me off.

"Felix, Afton, come forward," Caius said without hesitating.

"That's two," I said.

"The third is myself," Caius said as he took his cloak off.

"Very well, I guess the only rule is don't kill each other?" I asked and he nodded, the guard all went to the edges of the room while Aro, Marcus, Sulpicia, Didyme and Athenodora watched with interest.

"Let's dance."

* * *

The 'fight' took me ten minutes to finish, which, surprisingly was longer than I had expected. It was a pleasant surprise – so far only a few people were able to go toe-to-toe with me in combat. However, as always each of my moves were decisive and well calculated – Afton and Felix had all of their limbs torn off and tossed around the room, Caius himself also lost all of his limbs except his left arm.

"Well… I… wow," Athenodora said once it was clear that the three of them were unable to continue the session.

"Took me longer than I expected," I sighed, the few cuts on my body started to seal up almost immediately.

"And you were still in your human form…" Marcus added and I nodded.

"Brother… are you suggesting that Miss Swan is even more powerful than we observed?" Sulpicia asked.

"My guess would be that she has three forms," he said looking at me as if asking for an explanation.

"Correct, my weakest form being this human form. I can shift into a halfway form which brings out characteristics of the dragon inside of me – being my wings, tail and claws, this would also increase my strength to half of what my dragon form is. And of course – I have my full dragon form where I completely shift into my dragon."

"Dear god… I am so aroused right now," Athenodora whispered and Caius growled while Didyme and Sulpicia giggled – I raised an eyebrow at her and we could also hear Jane's growling as well.

"Calm down Jane, I am not going to touch your mate. Not without your permission at least."

"I suppose I should no longer need to prove my skills? Besides, I know my brother, sister and sister-in law, will – no doubt, be on their way now to join in on the mission."

"The Elder council are sending you backup?" Aro asked surprised.

"See I knew she couldn't do this by herself," Caius snarled.

"Actually, they have just as much hate for Cullen as I do. I merely invited them to come join the fun – though I should say, stay out of our way on the battlefield if you insist on coming. We'll kill anything in sight once the battle starts – it's in our primal nature, we only register our own through a special mark that connects us as the Black Rose Elite Squad of the Elder Council. Mates may be safe due to our instincts – but aside from that, any other presence may end up… dead," I explained – they all seemed to nod their understanding.

"What species are the three coming?" Aro asked, curiosity on his features.

"Seth, my brother – he is a Wolf-Shifter, not to be confused with werewolf. Their kind can shift into wolves at will – unlike a werewolf and it's need for the full moon. My sister is also a wolf-shifter and is the biological sibling of Seth. Kate Denali is a vampire and is Leah's mate/imprint."

"So, young Katrina found her mate? I should congratulate her," Marcus said.

"The Denali coven were known to us, Eleazar, he served on the Guard for a period of time – he left once he found his mate and we let him go under the provision that should we require his gift at all, he would willingly return for the period that we required his help," Didyme explained.

"If you don't mind me – I am tired and wish to rest until tomorrow," I said.

"Of course, Isabella, we shall no doubt continue our discussion tomorrow," Sulpicia said.

"Sure, just remember that I'm a mother. I do have other responsibilities, but, I'll do my job so you just keep your heads on your shoulders for the next few hours," I said before walking towards the door, Jane swiftly on my heels.

"Is there anything on your mind, Isabella?" Jane asked as we walked back to her room, where Grace was cuddled up under the covers with her favourite soft toy in her hands.

"Just a few things," I said, now that the immediate danger and information had passed, my instincts were starting to make themselves known.

"Care to tell me about them?" Jane asked, we rounded the corner where Alec was standing outside the closed door.

" _Leave_ ," I snapped at him, grabbed Jane's wrist and pulled her through the door. As soon as the door was closed I had her pressed up against it, my eyes looked right into her own. No further words were exchanged as I pressed my lips against hers and let my instincts take over, thank god I had the sense to put a silencing bubble around Grace so we wouldn't disturb her.

* * *

 **Marcus POV**

As Isabella left I watched with interest, the coloured lines that formed the different bonds between people that I had been able to see for all of my life were vibrant. I looked to Didyme, the love of my life and smiled.

"She'll come around," I said, Didyme pouted a little bit but gave me a smile.

"She's certainly a wild one, our little girl," Didyme said wistfully.

There were multiple types of bonds in our world, the most prevalent would be the mating bond, which was a vibrant red colour that connected two mates. Such as Sulpicia and Aro, Didyme and myself. Then there were the familial connections which were golden, they pointed out family members, Aro and Didyme were connected by a large golden one having been siblings before our turning. Caius, Athenodora and myself have some gold connections between us, being the Volturi Kings and Queens as well as spending the amount of time we have together, has caused us to come together as a family. There were also many members of the guard who we had some of these connections with. The lesser known connection were that of parents to child, which was a blue colour, Sulpicia and Aro had this connection with Jane and Alec – having viewed the lovely twins as their own children. Now Didyme and I had this connection to Isabella, though she didn't quite know it yet and I had only briefly been able to tell Didyme – Aro would have seen from when he touched me.

However, the most interesting bond that I had observed was that coming from my sister, and fellow Queen; Athenodora. A pink bond formed between her and Isabella, and I had also noticed that of all of us, she did not meet Isabella's eyes with her own.

"Athena, you have to meet her eyes," I said, the woman looked at me with a scathing glare – before her features softened a little.

"I know… but, I'm scared… you saw how she and Jane were. I wouldn't want to come between that," she sighed.

"You wouldn't be, you and Janes, while you have been intimate – your bonds are a strong pink, and just now I saw the very same, although, weaker bond form with Isabella. I believe that once you meet Isabella's eyes, the mating bond between the three of you will activate – allowing you and Jane to be fully mated as well," I explained.

"Brother, are you suggesting that?" Aro trailed off.

"I am indeed, suggesting that our dear Athena and Jane – the reason they weren't able to complete their bond, was that it was waiting for a third. Very rare, but, we know that it does exist as we've seen it with the Amazons. Athena, don't deny your instincts, sister," I said.

"I… okay. But… I'm going to let Jane have her time first," she said meekly, yet, none of us could fault her for this reason.

"Things are going to be interesting, aren't they Marcus?" Didyme said, her hand in my own.

"Indeed they will, come, let us retire for the night."


	3. Chapter 3: Family Arrival

**Chapter 3: Family Arrival**

* * *

 _ **Bella POV ~**_

" _It's been a while, Bella," I found myself in the 'dark room' it was a secluded area of my mind where my dragon self typically resided._

 _Contrary to what others may believe, the Elite 'Hunters' of the Elder Council weren't born supernatural. Instead, they earned their Supernatural forms through various gruelling trials. The 'Hunters' were the leaders of their groups, which may be comprised of actual supernatural species or other Hunters. The man that had saved me was the Head Hunter named Dante, he, like all of the other Hunter's – was once human before the Elder council deemed him worthy of going through the trials._

 _Upon completing the trial, you would receive a blessing from Queen Titania before you would enter the chamber of Yggdrasil to be granted a Supernatural half. That half, would have a persona of its own, and would reside in a special room within the mind aptly titled the 'dark room' as it was pitch black with only the supernatural being as being viewable._

 _There was another, albeit, different judgement that could come from Yggdrasil, but could only occur due to specific conditions being met. And that would be the gifting of the presence of a God within the 'dark room'._

" _Amber, to what do I owe this visit?" I asked, sometimes I visit her, sometimes she calls me – it depends on what the situation is._

" _The mating bond… It's incomplete," her voice echoed through the darkness as her crimson eyes came into view followed by the rest of her black, armoured and spiked body._

" _What do you mean? We both felt it with… Jane," I replied._

" _Indeed… but it is incomplete, we're missing our other mate," she said, eyes burning into me._

" _Can't we just be happy with Jane? We deserve that much," I said._

" _We, are meant for great things Bella. Dante knew we were, just as I know we are as well. We are meant to be… something… more, than what we are. Yggdrasil is telling me that much," another thing, our supernatural halves are ALL connected to the tree._

" _You gonna clue me in?" I asked, crossing my arms._

" _There is a great Hunt coming, Bella. We need to be ready for it."_

When I opened my eyes, I felt something cold in my arms, however, I still felt warm inside. Jane looked up at me, her crimson eyes focused on my own. Vampires don't sleep, unfortunately or fortunately I still do and after the events of the night I slept straight away after giving Jane her ninth orgasm of the night. Her naked body was still in my arms.

"Good morning, Isabella," she said with an almost shy voice.

"Good… morning Jane," I replied, unwrapping my arms and sitting up in the bed.

"Last night was… _amazing_ ," Jane said in awe, and I chuckled.

"It certainly was," I said, then I registered that Grace wasn't in her bed.

"Where's Grace?" I asked concerned, while I trusted that the Vamps wouldn't do anything to her, I was still concerned about my daughter being in a castle full of vampires.

"She's in the library with King Marcus and Queen Didyme," at that I smiled, trust me to raise a child that could be lured away by the sweet seduction of a tantalising book.

"Jane…" I said.

"Yes, Isabella?" she asked, looking up at me.

"Our bond… it isn't complete, is it?" I asked, she bit her lip at that, she looked so shy and adorable when she did that, I wrapped my arms around her cold skin and breathed in her scent, _vanilla_.

"I felt the mating pull immediately, when our eyes met… but, it doesn't feel _fully_ complete. Like we're missing someone," Jane hesitantly replied.

"I feel that too… we're destined to have a third," I sighed.

"I think… I think it's Queen Athenodora," she said, her voice barely above vampire hearing.

"Why do you think that?" I asked.

"Before… Before you came, Queen Athenodora and I were somewhat intimate… but, King Marcus said it was an incomplete mating bond," I looked at her confused.

"How does he know what bonds are?"

"King Marcus' gift, he can see the bonds between every being. He hasn't described it to us, but, I think if you asked him, he'd tell you the direction _we_ need to go in."

I nodded and slid out of bed, heading towards the bathroom at a human pace. Jane followed me and after showering and changing, we were ready to head to the kitchen to fix some breakfast for myself. I was really surprised to learn that Volterra actually had a Kitchen, Vampires didn't eat, but, given that there were _human_ aids who helped out, it made sense. Jane explained that the humans that work here are all either mated to one of the guard members and are waiting for a better time to change, or, know of the vampire world and are trying to prove themselves worthy of being changed.

"Mummy!" Grace exclaimed, my face lit up as she ran over to me and jumped up into my lap waving a book in her hand.

"Grandma Didyme show me the library! It's amazing! I don't ever want to leave it!" Grace said, the beautiful excited expression on her face melted my heart and I could hear Jane purring as well.

"Your daughter is quite knowledgeable on her literature, I'm impressed," Queen Didyme and King Marcus were standing a few meters away. The former also had a small stack of books in her hand, while the latter held only one.

"She gets that from me, now… Grandma?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How much do you know about bonds, Isabella?" Marcus asked.

"Not much, just the mating bond and imprinting when it comes to shifters – although there are a few other types of mating bonds, but most are the same."

"Very well, you are correct – the most common bond is that of the mating bond. Then there is the _familia_ bond, or, rather, that of a family. Then there is the parental bond, in which a mated pair would be connected to another with the bond in which they would care for that individual as if they were the mated pair's biological child," Marcus explained.

"I see, so why did Grace call Queen Didyme Grandma?" I asked.

"Well, that would be because Didyme and I have that parental bond with you, Isabella, we feel the overwhelming desire to protect and care for you as a parent would their child. And because Grace is your own child, to us, she is our Grandchild," Marcus explained and I looked at him with a blank expression.

"That makes no fucking sense whatsoever," I said.

"Language! Isabella!" Didyme hissed, holding her hands over Grace's ears.

"Didyme, calm down my love. I'm sorry Isabella, we feel the effects of the bond more than you do, my wife especially as for hundreds of years she's been yearning to be a mother," Marcus said, placing a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Perhaps… we could talk about it over dinner sometime? Just the three of us," Didyme asked, tentatively, her eyes softening when she realised her emotions were slightly out of control.

"I can agree to that," I said hesitantly.

We sat around the table and listened to Grace talk about how much she was loving it here, Marcus and Didyme looked at her and I with expressions of complete adoration and love, it was… comforting. However, my conversation with Amber was still lingering in my mind.

"King Marcus, Queen Didyme… Isabella Swan, King Aro has requested your presence in the throne room immediately, something about the arrival of a vampire and two shifters?" Alec, Jane's twin brother said hesitantly.

"We will be there momentarily," Marcus replied for us.

"Am I coming as well?" Grace asked, looking up at us.

"You sure are, I don't trust anyone with you yet," I said, lifting her up onto my shoulders.

* * *

We made our way to the throne room in a slightly quick human pace, once inside a bright smile came across my face as I saw the three other members of my squad, or, rather, family. Leah Clearwater-Denali, Katrina 'Kate' Denali-Clearwater and lastly Seth Clearwater.

"Aunty Kate! Aunty Lee-lee, Uncle Seth!" Grace squealed and I put her down for her to race over and jump into Seth's strong arms.

"Whoa! Hey there little monkey!" Seth grinned, giving her a hug and kissing her cheek.

"Oi! Stop hogging her," Kate said, pulling her from his arms and giving her a kiss on her cheek as well as a hug before passing her to Leah for another round.

"We got your message, Cullen's finally made himself a target, eh," Seth grinned, cracking his knuckles.

Seth and Leah know _all_ about my history with the Cullen's, and with Kate being Leah's imprint, she got told as well. Eventually, Seth and I met the Denali coven – Tanya, Irina, Carmen and Eleazar. They were all appalled at how the Cullen's acted and effectively cut all ties with them, given that Leah and Kate were together and Leah, Seth and I were siblings. Of course, Kate, Leah and Seth were recruited into the Elder Council the same day I was saved, the four of us making up the infamous 'Black Rose' Squadron.

"I've been looking forward to giving that asshole payback for some time," Leah agreed, putting Grace down.

"So, you gonna introduce us to your mates?" Kate said, hand on her hip with her other hand around Leah's waist.

"That's the first thing you say to me, Kate?" I ask her with a raised eyebrow.

"Sister, you've been so focused on Grace and work that you've literally had no time to get laid. I just want to meet the vamps that got your frigid ass fucked in bed," Kate said, Jane chuckled.

"She was doing the fucking," as she said this, Leah's hands immediately covered Grace's ears before her sentence was finished.

"Bullshit, one of the Witch twins!" Kate openly gaped.

"Or was it both of them?" she smirked and I groaned.

"No, the other would be…"

"Would be me," Athenodora stepped forwards, her eyes finally resting on my own and I felt that same tug in my chest that I did with Jane, and by the look of relief on her face she felt it as well.

"Whoa… Queen Athenodora. Shit Bells, you really don't do anything half assed, do you? A witch twin and a Volturi Queen," Kate whistled appreciatively.

"While it is amusing watching you catch up, we must discuss the issue of Edward Cullen. I have already summoned Carlisle Cullen and his family to Volturi, citing it was Volturi business…"

That stopped the four of us in our tracks as our eyes stilled on Aro, I moved before anyone could react and punched him in the jaw, his entire body flew backwards and into the stone wall. The guards all gasped and growled, crouching down as if ready to attack.

"You fucking idiot! They can warn him that we're onto him now!" I growled, just then I felt someone rush towards me, a crashing sound could be heard and then a whimper.

Seth had grabbed the vampire who was rushing me by his skull and lifted him off the ground before semi-crushing his skull. The vampire was still alive, just with a lot of cracks on his face. Didyme and Marcus had moved to protect Grace while Leah and Kate had taken positions either side of Seth, looking out at the guards, daring them to attack.

"I'm… sorry… we thought this would be a good way to find out where Edward is," Aro said, picking himself up from the ground, cracks all over the visible skin.

"Jesus Christ… Seth, drop the poor fool. We've got to figure out what to do now, Squad meeting, _now_ ," I say, the three of them nod and Seth drops the vamp before kicking him away like a ball on the ground.

"Jane… watch Grace," I say, turning and heading towards the door, as I do I pass Athenodora.

"You too… _please_ ," I say the last part so only she can hear.

Once we were outside the throne room, we ran directly to the courtyard before stopping, giving ourselves enough room. I felt Amber slip into my mind and my body shuddered before large wings exploded out of my shoulder blades and folded around the three of us.

"Aro's gone and made this a lot harder," Kate grumbled.

"It was unintentional, he wasn't to know what he was doing was stupid. But, what are we going to do now? The Cullen's are coming here, and I don't like the thought of them being around Grace," Leah said.

"We should separate them from one another, and then _interrogate_ them, Black Rose style," Seth said.

"Hells to the yes! I love that version of interrogation," Kate said.

"Are you really ready to face them again Bells? I know it's been years, but, they scarred you pretty deeply," Leah's concern showed.

"It's not like I wasn't aware that I would see them again, eventually. I would just have preferred for it to wait a few decades or centuries. Nothing we can do now though, they're on their way. So, we will do our job and find out where Edward and his accomplices are, _at all costs_."

* * *

 _ **Athenodora POV~**_

Bella was always so damned sexy to watch, sure she was bashing on Aro, but still, the way those muscles flexed, the way she moved so fast that even I could barely keep up with her. It was like she was an angel of death.

"I'm glad you finally met her eyes," Marcus said, a smile on his face.

"I'm relieved it happened, I can feel the pulls. Both of them," I said.

"So… you're my Mum's other mate?" the human child, Grace, asked looking up at me.

"It would appear so… does that disappoint you?" I asked nervously.

"Nope! Mummy deserves all the happiness in the world. Aunty Kate, Aunty Lee-Lee and Uncle Seth have told me how much she struggled when raising me, I never let her know that I knew. But, Mummy is the best! And now she can be happy," she replied and I smiled down at her, she was currently in Jane's lap, Jane playing with her hair.

"I'm sure Jane and I will try our best to be the partner's she needs, now, what about you little one? Have you thought much about if you want to be changed like Katrina, Jane or myself?" I asked, our laws would dictate that she would be changed when she comes of age.

"I haven't really thought much about it, but, Mummy says that when I am of age. I am to present myself to Queen Titania in Yggdrasil – I am to join the ranks of the elder council, Mummy's always been honest with me since I was five," I looked at her slightly shocked, in 10 years she would be following in the footsteps of her mother, which meant as far as our laws go, she was off limits.

"Perhaps we should retire to the library, Aro needs to recover from that ordeal," Didyme suggested looking over at her brother with worry.

"Yay!" Grace exclaimed, Jane chuckled and I found myself laughing as well, of course she'd be a bookworm like Marcus and Didyme, they were her grandparents after all.

"Oh, and Athena, are we going to need to have the parental chat with you?" Didyme asked, her eyes slightly darkening and I chuckled.

"Come now Di, I think I'm a little old for that," I say taking Jane's hand in my own and walking at a human's pace towards the library.

"I'm her mother, I'm allowed to be worried," Didyme grumbled.

"You're going to try and mother a dragon?"

"My little girl is my little girl, doesn't matter if she were the goddess of war herself," Didyme mumbled, holding the little human's hand as we walked.


	4. Chapter 4: Crouching Tiger,hidden DRAGON

**A/N: So... this chapter is a lot shorter than the others but I really wanted to upload something. So we now have the introduction of the Cullen's and the beginning of their stint here in Volterra.**

 **Chapter 4: Crouching Tiger, Hidden DRAGON**

* * *

 **Bella POV ~**

" _Bella, come with me," Edward said._

 _I followed him outside of their house, through the forest. I think I lost track of our path after the first fifteen minutes, Edward was going in random directions. Once he stopped, he was standing on a large boulder I hadn't seen before, I had never really explored the woods of Forks._

" _We're leaving Bella," he eventually said._

" _Okay… well, I mean I have to go home and pack. And then I have to come up with an excuse to tell Charlie, but I'm sure I can figure something out," I replied._

" _No Bella, we, as in us, and not you. We're leaving, people are starting to notice Carlisle and the others aren't aging."_

" _Okay… but, Edward why can't I come with you?"_

" _Because you were just a way to kill time, just a toy for us to play with for a bit. And you were fun, I've had the most fun in a few decades. Especially when those nomads were after you," Edward licked his lips, while I just stared at him with a shocked expression._

" _So, we're going to leave and you're never going to see us again. And really Bella, pining after me the way you did was pathetic. You should go and kill yourself," and with that he left, he left me in a darkening forest, and took my heart with him._

" _Edward!"_

"Edward!" I growled, shooting up in bed, eyes glowing their signature amber colour when my dragon side was coming to the front.

"Everything okay, love?" Athenodora and Jane were on both sides of me, their cold arms wrapped around my warm body. They both had looks of concern on their faces.

"Just a memory," I said shrugging off their arms and slipping from the bed, the cool air felt nice against my naked skin.

"Grace?" the first question I asked every morning I woke up here for the past week.

"Marcus and Didyme's room again, I think it should just become Grace's room," Athenodora chuckled and I smiled.

"The Cullen's are due today," that information immediately soured my mood, I frowned and then nodded before walking off towards the bathroom, Jane and Athenodora quick to join me in the shower.

"Mummy! Grandma and I finished another book last night!" Grace exclaimed as we joined them at the breakfast table.

Seth, Leah, Grace and I all had big breakfasts laid out in front of us while the Vampires drank blood laced wine. Grace was talking about how she and my 'mother' Didyme finished reading yet another book, this time it was Vampire Academy book 1. Grace was going on and on about how Rose and Vasilisa 'Lisa' were the perfect couple, despite one being an actual vampire and the other being the guardian of said vampire.

"No way kiddo, Lisa and that fire guy are the perfect couple, as are Rose and what's his face?" Kate said

"Demetri?" Grace supplied.

"Yeah him, I mean like, banging the teacher, am I right?" Kate was immediately hit over the back of her head by Leah, the former complaining to the latter.

"What have I told you about trying to corrupt our niece?" Leah scolded, and Kate pouted at Leah like a child.

"That I should try to do it as often as possible? Ow! Okay, not to do it," Kate said as Leah hit her once again.

"Geez, you see how violent your Aunty Leah is kiddo?" Kate mumbled and Grace giggled, a sound that made everyone at the table smile.

"Honey, today your uncle Seth, Aunty Kate and Aunty Leah and I are going to be busy with work. So, Grandma Didyme and her guards are going to be spending the day with you, keeping you safe. Understood?" I said, looking Grace right in the eyes.

"Do you have to? We're supposed to be on holidays," Grace complained.

"Sorry sweetie, but on the upside. Work has us staying here for the foreseeable future, so you'll have plenty of time to explore the castle," I said and her features immediately brightened.

"Okay! But, if you're going to execute anyone I want to watch!" all of the vampires stiffened at that while Seth, Leah and Kate chuckled, she certainly was going to follow us when she turned sixteen. Normally, it would be eighteen but she's the daughter of a Hunter, which means she's eligible at the age of sixteen… in six years.

"Deal, if we execute anyone as per the laws, you can watch as long as Jane and Athenodora are on either side of you with grandma and grandpa behind you," I agreed.

"Yay!"

* * *

"Grace has gone into Volterra with Didyme, Heidi, Alec, Felix and Afton. All of them are considered the top members of the elite guard, she and Didyme will be safe," Athenodora said as I was checking my outfit, black-stretchy skinny jeans, combat boots, plain black tank, denim jacket, studded belt which contained both of my swords. My hunters mark on my hip was partly exposed as well.

"Good, I don't trust the Cullen's whatsoever. I would much prefer to have Grace close to me, but I can't tell what they'd do if they knew about her. And the danger of having that damned seer see her is great, thank god Seth and Leah were here by the time Aro had summoned them. The seer can't see their future when shifters are involved."

"I suppose that is the only good thing, the other is the amount of information we should be able to get," Jane added.

"You sure you're ready to face them again, love?" Athenodora asked with concern, I smiled and gave her a soft kiss, both she and Jane had been increasingly worried over the past two days, given that the Cullen's would be travelling via human means to take longer time.

"Honestly, this is something that needs to happen because of the threat that Edward is posing to the human world. If I can't handle them mentally, Amber will take care of the rest," I sighed, it has happened before. Something could trigger my mental shields and cause Amber to take over the job to make sure it's finished.

"How will we know it's Amber and not you?" Jane asked, her voice a bare whisper.

"There'll be a dragon in the room."

Seth, Kate and Leah were all dressed similarly to me, however, their bodies showed a black rose tattoo instead of the Hunter's mark. Seth's mark was on his left bicep while his pack mark was on his right bicep. Leah's mark was the same only on opposite shoulders and Kate's mark was on her neck.

"My Kings and Queens, they've arrived," Jane's voice was neutral, forced, as she was anything but calm. Jane and Leah were manning the door, Seth and Kate were on either side of me, many other Volturi guard members were brought into the room in absence of the core group who were with Didyme and Grace.

"Jane, bring them in. You and Leah are to immediately close the door and lock it. Should any of them make a _single_ move towards the door you are to incapacitate them, without killing them," my look was to Leah with that last comment, she frowned but nodded, this was elder council business, not revenge.

The five minutes that it took for them to arrive felt like an eternity, Jane entered first and then slowly the rest of the Cullen's trickled in, before two new guards brought up the rear. The doors then immediately shut behind them startling them for a few moments before their heads turned and all eyes fell upon me.

"Bella!" it's been ten years since I'd heard her voice, unmistakably Alice Cullen's high pitch pixie voice.

"Good morning, Carlisle Cullen and the Olympic Coven. I see you are one short, where is Edward?" my voice was void of any emotion, despite the inner turmoil that was going on inside of me.

"Bella, how are you here? Why are you with the Volturi… why do you smell… inhumane?" Alice said, I ignored her and settled my glare on Carlisle.

"Well, Carlisle Cullen. I am waiting for an answer."

"H-he is currently with our cousins, the Denali coven in Alaska," Carlisle stammered.

"Bullshit! Your _family_ hasn't been welcome by us for eight years," Kate snapped, she was glaring at them as well.

"Something's wrong, I _still_ can't see our future," Alice took a few steps back bumping into someone, that someone was Leah.

"Hello again, _leech_ ," Leah's lips curled up into a half grin half threat.

"You stay away from her," Jasper pushed Alice behind him, the Cullen's were confused, except Carlisle who was looking at me with a blank expression.

"Are any of you going to tell me where Edward is?" I sighed, all of them being in front of me again brought back so many memories. Ones I would rather forget, I wanted this over with as quickly as possible.

"We don't know where he is, a few years ago he left the coven citing he was going into self-exile for what he did to you. That's the honest truth," Rosalie stepped up, looking at me with the same expression of dislike that she had always given me.

"If Edward has broken the laws, we will bring him to face trial. But, you can surely understand that after he left you, his _mate_ …" as Esme said that there were two snarls, one from Jane and one from Athenodora. Moments later Esme was screaming on the ground, phantom pain from Jane had her writhing on the ground.

"Jane, please… is that nearly necessary?" Carlisle's plead was neutral, like he wasn't that affected by her pain… which meant one thing in my mind. Esme was not his mate like she thought she was, or more accurately he had told her.

"Jane, enough," I said.

"The bitch deserves it! Claiming Edward was your mate when you are Queen Athenodora and mine!" Jane protested.

"I said _enough!_ " Amber growled, seizing control of my body. Jane immediately backed up a step, every vampire in the room except Kate and Athenodora took involuntary steps back. Seth and Leah just smirked.

" _I can smell the lies coming from you, now, tell me where Edward Cullen is_ ," her voice echoed throughout the throne room.

"Bella please!" the pleading came from Alice.

Amber moved at her quickened pace and a hand wrapped around Alice's throat lifting her in the air. Jasper had good instincts and had tried to protect his mate, but, he was too slow and as a result, Jasper was now on the ground being held by one of my feet against his necks with cracks appearing along it. She drew one of the swords on our belt and held it above Jasper. The Cullen's and many of the new guard members stood there shocked, as we had moved faster than their reflexes or eyes could keep up with. I felt the pressure of the wings pushing out from my shoulder blades and strained to try and keep them in check along with that little bit of self-control I had left. Then a movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention and Amber broke free.

Carlisle Cullen had tried to attack me, in response Amber had thrown Alice into the arms of Kate who filled her body with electricity effectively incapacitating her, while Amber grabbed Carlisle from the air and slammed him into the ground right next to Jasper, of which she had kicked towards Seth, who held him in an instant death position should Amber order it. Our wings shot out of our body and threatened to block out the light coming from the windows, while our tail wrapped around Carlisle neck and lifted him from the crater he had become.

" _Bella's not here right now_."


	5. Chapter 5: Changes

**A/N: WARNING THIS CHAPTER HAS TORTURE INVOLVED.**

 **Chapter 5: Changes**

* * *

 **Bella POV ~**

 _Flashback_

" _As with all Hunters, you need to understand what you are inflicting on others in order to best gage their reactions. As we are the elites of the Supernatural Council's Warriors, we need to know how to break any and all species and force them to give us information whether they want to or not. But, to know what to do you must experience it yourself. Do you still wish to continue?" Dante asked, I looked back at him with the same expression of determination I always had._

" _Yes," I said._

" _Very well, I certainly hope you don't break like so many others have. But, you will experience the most pain you have ever endured in your life. Be prepared for a long road."_

 _Dante was true to his word, the months I spent learning by enduring were the worst in my life, but I was determined to become stronger than I was before. Strong enough to deal with anything that threatened Grace's life, I would do anything to protect my girl from any of the creatures who wanted to harm her. I was lucky with Victoria, but who knows what else might come after her, I wasn't going to take the risk._

 _But after I endured and learned, I was taught how to break every single supernatural species in existence. And I got good at it, Vampires, Werewolves, Fae, Shifters, Oni, Dragons, it didn't matter which prisoners I got given, I broke them eventually. It's what got me Amber and I will always remember the strength I received from the supernatural council's belief in me. Amber had been a partner of the council for eons and was the next one to be assigned to a new skin, me._

 _End flashback_

The Dungeons of Volterra were void of almost all light. It was amusing seeing the Cullen's chained up with chains that were drenched in werewolf blood, which physically weakened a vampire. None of the Volturi guards had voluntarily come into the dungeons for interrogation with us except for Jane. Of course all of the Volturi Kings were here as were the Queens minus Didyme.

"Bella, this isn't necessary," Emmett said, he was physically restrained to the wall and not even his large muscles could help him against the werewolf blood.

"Perhaps you'd like to give me the answers I asked for then," I said, I had managed to reign Amber in, but I knew one of my eyes had changed and I could feel all of my teeth being serrated, the wings were still out of my shoulder blades. It was very obvious Amber was still here even if I was in control.

"We've already told you, we don't know where Edward is!" Rosalie begged.

"You and Emmett may not know where he is, but I know a few of you do know where he is," I eyed Carlisle, Alice and Jasper particularly.

Carlisle sported a lot of cracks which were slowly healing, he had taken a lot of damage from when he had attempted to attack me. Jasper was also mending from his instinctual attack on myself when I had threatened Alice, his arm had been torn clean off along with one leg and they were reattached but still mending. I wonder what this would do to his 'God of War' reputation.

"So, Carlisle, are you going to start speaking? Or is this going to turn into an interesting interrogation?" I asked, he glared at me yet remained silent.

"Very well," I turned to the others in the room.

"Should any of you wish to leave at any time, you may. It will not be comforting to watch torture that affects all Vampires," I said, yet they all straightened their backs and nodded.

No words were spoken as I looked to Seth and Leah, and Kate who stood back leaning against the wall. Strangely enough, she was immune to werewolf blood, though I think that's because she and Leah have exchanged blood/venom and therefore Kate has some shifter blood flowing through her body.

"Jane, I need a plain and sanitised table," I asked, a flash later and the table was set in front of me, clean as can be and even had some disinfectant products on it.

"Thanks love," I said before holding my hand out to Leah, she placed a wrapped bundle in my hand and I rolled it out on the table.

Various tools were placed within the wrap and were now in front of me, I sorted everything out without making a sound. Everyone around me held their breath, a few moments later and I was finished. I then looked to Seth and Leah and they came over and stood in front of me, I placed a bowl between them and then they picked up a dagger each, cut into their palms and let the blood fall into the bowl. The vampires in the room except Kate made a face at the smell of the blood, it smelled foul to them and would definitely make them sick if they ingested or were touched by it.

"You're not doing what I think you're doing… are you?" Alice asked, her voice trembling.

"Kate, shock her."

"Which one?"

"We'll start with that one," I pointed right at Esme, torturing her would make the Cullen's speak. She was without a doubt their crutch, the one who held them together. She was once someone I cared about, but, I despised her and their whole coven now so I had no qualms about getting some revenge.

Kate pushed off of the wall she was leaning against, her hands crackling with electricity. Rosalie and Emmett stood shocked as Kate stood in front of Esme, her hands now radiated with the electricity, to the point where you could see it travelling from one hand to the other.

"Katrina, please, we're family," Esme pleaded, struggling against her bonds, but her body was infinitely weaker because of the blood.

"Perhaps a few decades ago we were, but, you Cullen's haven't been welcomed in Denali for years. And you _never_ will be again. We know exactly what you did to Bella, and Leah is my mate, Bella is Leah's sister. I hope you know Esme, that Carmen would be doing this herself if she could," Kate's words silenced Esme before her body convulsed and Esme Platt or Cullen, let out a scream that echoed throughout most of the castle.

"Stop! Please!" "How could you do this Bella!" and "Kate! stop!" were the reactions from Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie while Alice's facial expression conveyed shock and then fear. Because of Seth and Leah's presence, she could no longer see their future and that scared her because she had no idea if Bella was even going to let them live.

After a few moments and continuous screaming, I ignored the pleas of the Cullen's and eventually signalled Kate to stop. When she did, Esme's body was limp and she was coughing up venom, spitting it onto the ground. Carlisle's face never faltered and he never said a thing as his supposed _mate_ was tortured. Typical Carlisle, Esme may not have been his mate but she was the emotional backbone of the coven.

"Leah, Seth, unchain her and we'll put her on the gurney," I waved my hand and the traditional interrogation gurney, the bed was on wheels like the hospital gurney's. However, there were specific runes crafted on the different parts of it which could do different things. And of course, the base activated rune was created by Queen Tatiana herself, and it caused whoever was strapped in it to practically become mortal. Though if they were an immortal race, they still couldn't die. They would bleed a lot though.

They walked forwards and Emmett and Rosalie were trying their hardest to fight the chains, but it was pointless. Rosalie was dry sobbing and Esme was pleading over and over again for us to stop. I noticed that the Kings and Queens were still watching, Aro with an expression of morbid fascination, naturally. Sulpicia, however, looked a little sick and my mate, Queen Athenodora seemed to be biting her lip, she looked cute I thought.

' _Concentrate on the task at hand, Isabella. I will let you claim your new mate later_ ' Amber's voice resonated through my thoughts.

"Are you ready to speak yet, Carlisle?" I asked, as Esme was forced onto the gurney and locked into place, the golden rune activating.

"I will not tell you where Edward is," he stated firmly, with a glare at me.

"Really, while your wife is being tortured? How immoral are you Carlisle," I chuckled before running my hand over the selection of tools.

"Well Alice, how about you?" I hummed, as I picked up a serrated karambit knife, and dropped it into the pool of wolf blood that Seth and Leah had provided for me.

"I-I… oh god, please don't do it Bella," Alice sobbed, shaking her head frantically.

"Jasper? How about you?" I turned to him and his jaw was clenched.

"I don't know where Edward is, that is the truth," he said.

"We don't know where he is! He hasn't been around for a few years. Why won't you believe us!" Rosalie shouted.

"Because I _know_ when someone is lying to me, Carlisle and Alice both know where Edward and his army are," I grinned at the two of them and Alice paled.

"Very well, if you won't tell me. Perhaps you will, after seeing this happen to dear mother Esme," I walked over to her with the knife in my hand, it was time to properly get to work.

My hands move with practiced precision as the knife with wolf blood cut into the flesh of her arm, however, I didn't cut it off. No, that would have been merciful. Instead I made a small but somewhat deep cut, then I angled the knife flat against her cold skin. Then I started to skin her arm, and once again her screams echoed through the dungeons.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Sulpicia placed her hand over her mouth and fled from the dungeons at vampire speed.

"You see, the thing about becoming a Hunter – is that when you learn how to interrogate different species. You must first adopt the attributes of the species and then go through the torture yourself. That is how we are trained so thoroughly, I spend a year being tortured in so many painful ways to become what I am now. And it has paid off, as I now have the pleasure of doing this and watching your pain," I said as I tore the granite skin from Esme's arm, I knew it would heal itself up, but the wolf blood would make it extremely painful and would take quite a while.

"I know exactly how Esme feels, and as you all can imagine. She is in _unimaginable pain_ ," I continued and chuckled at my own joke, Kate held her hand over her face and shook her head.

For an hour, I worked on Esme with sadistic pleasure. I was inflicting an unimaginable pain on someone who had taken part in _breaking_ me. And I was enjoying it. I skinned her arms and legs, I took off her nails, managing to leave the fingers and toes connected still. The only part of her I didn't mark was her face. Rosalie had opted to look away after half an hour and Emmett was motionless, his eyes wide in horror. Yet, still no one spoke up with anything that could have me stop. It was quite annoying. It would seem that I need to get more personal for them to speak.

"It seems that Esme isn't as important to you as I thought. Really Carlisle, I thought she was your mate?" I laughed, Esme looked at Carlisle with an expression of utter betrayal on her face. She had pleaded for him to help her, and he was well within his power to.

Aro had even taken sympathy for Esme and tried to get the information out of Carlisle. However, that development caused us to learn that Carlisle was somehow being protected from Aro's gift, which we could easily deduce that one of Edward's new vampires had some kind of shielding ability which psychologically protected Carlisle – this was confirmed when Jane tried to use her gift on him as it was a mental affliction. He was immune.

"Well, I suppose I will have to start with someone else. Someone who is more likely to get me answers," I mused, looking over my tools with interest. Cleaning them off and then reorganising them.

" _One must always keep their tools in order, even when currently being used_ ," Dante had always told me as he taught me my lessons, both when he was torturing me and when I was torturing prisoners.

"Kate, Leah, bring me The Major," I said, not even looking over my shoulder.

"You shock me, and you're sleeping on the couch for a month," Leah said sternly.

"Babe! You can't be serious… please! Anything but the couch! Ugh. Fine," Kate protested as she walked over with Leah, then had a pout on her face, I shook my head. Even during business those two were slightly childish.

Jasper struggled, as expected and he was especially strong. But as soon as Kate touched him, he was convulsing as electricity flooded his body. Leah wasn't affected at all as they carried him, because Kate had perfect control over her powers now she was blessed by the council

"So Major, I hope you give me some entertainment just like Esme did," I said before picking up an M9 Bayonet. A military knife, and soaked it in the blood once again.

"Let's see what's under the God of War's skin," I moved the blade and trailed it up and down his arm before moving to cut. He let out a hiss of pain as the blade effortlessly pierces his diamond hard skin, really, knowing the weaknesses of all species was beautiful.

"Cairo!" Alice shouted and I stopped, looked at her and grinned.

"The last vision I had of Edward, he was in Cairo. He was indecisive about what he was doing, but I only know he was there a few months ago," Alice said, looking down at the ground.

"Well Major, guess it's good to know that your mate, is indeed your mate and cares deeply for you," I wiped the blood off of the blade and placed it back on the table before wiping his cut and removing any trace of the wolf blood so his cut would heal quickly.

"See how great it is when you tell me what I want to know straight out. And I had so much planned if you didn't talk, I was even going to castrate him," I said with some disappointment.

"Keep them locked in here without any sunlight for the moment, Once a day you may bring the injured vampire a single blood bag until she is fully healed. Aside from that lone bag for that single vampire, they are to starve until I say so. Understood?" I said looking at all of the members of the Volturi.

"As you command, my lady," Aro said.

* * *

There was a loud crash as the stone wall gave way with the force Athenodora was slammed up against it. She groaned as her legs locked around her assailant, her mate was attacking her lips and neck with her mouth. Athenodora could do nothing but let the raging dragon have its way with her, and she would have it no other way.

For centuries she had been the one in control, the one to dominate the battlefield, the bedroom, everything. Now, she was in the opposite position, she was the one being thrown around like a toy, and she thoroughly enjoyed the way her mate tore into her body.

" _Fuck, Bella_ ," Athenodora said in Celtic, her first language. I had torn her clothes from her body ages ago and was equally naked.

"I love the way you say my name," my voice was deep and husky, and I could feel her body shiver as I spoke.

"I have all eternity to say your name," Athenodora smirked, then threw her head back and into the stone as she felt my tail penetrate her while I used my hands to maul her soft tits while trailing kisses up her neck

Athenodora thrust her hips back against the motion of my moving tail, but her movement was limited by my hold on her. Her arms clawed at my back, they barely left a mark, but I allowed them to somewhat mark me as I didn't want to have her pouting because she wasn't as strong as she thought she was.

" _Bed, Please_ ," Athenodora begged and I complied throwing her onto the bed and landing on top of her with a devilish grin.

"Care to join us, Jane?"


End file.
